Joel Bitonio has been through the worst of it with the Cleveland Browns. He lived through 1-31, he was there when Cleveland got back to the playoffs but contracted COVID so he missed that legendary playoff night in Pittsburgh, he has had to live through the Deshaun Watson saga and as the end is near for him, he is lacing them up for what is likely his final year.
The outlook isn’t great for this Browns team. The truth is that it is likely that this team is going to struggle to win football games in 2025, but don’t tell the players that. Everyone inside that locker room is going to do whatever they can to make this team a winner again.
On Tuesday, Bitonio joined the Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima and talked about who, more so what, he wants to see from the next starting quarterback in Cleveland.
Whether it is Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, Bitonio just wants a guy who is desperate to win.
“The team wants the best guy on the field. That’s as simple as that. Guys want to win. Whoever the best guy ends up being, they will step into that leadership role.”
As we sit here in May, it definitely feels like the season is going to start with one of the veteran guys behind center, and later on in the year, one of the rookies will take the reins. The Browns will be in a peculiar spot because they are likely going to have at least one Top-10 pick next year with an opportunity to draft a quarterback at the top of the class. That means they are going to have to find out what they have in both of these young guys.
Regardless of who has the ball in his hands in Week 1, this Browns team just wants to win. They got a taste of the playoffs in 2023 but quickly reverted back to the bottom of the NFL. Last year’s 3-14 season felt as bad as it possibly could, as the Browns felt they had a winner and it was the last year they could keep this group together.
They were lucky to retain Myles Garrett, but it is now likely that Nick Chubb is on his way out of town. Each of the other veterans is yet another year older and not getting any younger.
The Browns decided not to tear the house down and start over, and now, they just want to win no matter who the quarterback is come Week 1.
-1744549278-q80.webp "BLAZING BACKFIELD UPGRADE? Patriots Host 4.25 Speedster Jaydon Blue on Pre-Draft Visit")
